Tags: Accidents and Tragedies, General News, Legislation
By Alexander Villafania
MANILA CITY, METRO MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) was not the only one that received flak for the bloody hostage drama at the Quirino Grandstand that gripped the nation last Monday.
Members of the media, particularly those in broadcast, were also criticized for apparently giving away the position of the police who were supposed to raid the bus.
Specifically, the attempt by the responding police to capture the brother of hostage-taker and former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza was also broadcast live by the TV and radio stations, which could have been heard by Mendoza via radio or television and pushed him to violence.
Forums, blogs and other social networking sites targeted the media’s lack of decorum during the entire hostage crisis. Comments from Facebook and Twitter blamed the media for giving away key details of what was going on outside the bus where Mendoza was keeping several Chinese tourists hostage.
This incident is also reminiscent of the 1972 Munich Massacre where most members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed by Islamic terrorists. The German police units were unable to position themselves in strategic points as the terrorists were actually watching them live from their TVs.
This prompted major media organizations to come up with guidelines in covering hostage and terrorist situations.
Such is the fallout against the local media that Cebu Representative Luigi Quisumbing raised a proposal for a media blackout during police and military operations. He, however, clarified that it is more to protect the operatives than to curtail press freedom.
In The ProPinoy Project, blogger Cocoy Dayao had a terse comment about the broadcast media’s coverage of the situation: “I think most people would agree that in situations like this the media doesn’t have to report everything! We can’t have a live police assault on live television. The hostage taker could be watching the bloody TV! This is like telegraphing punches.”
Another blogger, Redniko, also blamed photographers who were using their flash for much of the confusion among the police who were about to raid the bus. He also insist on a media blackout especially during such situations.
Travel guide and artist Carlos Celdran also tweeted his disapproval over the media’s live coverage of the event. In one post of his posts, he said “media are lousy at monitoring/policing themselves because they’re excellent at monitoring/policing govt issues, events.”
The coverage of last Monday’s crisis was also criticized by fellow journalists.
In an interview with loQal.ph, Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsbility (CMFR) said the media, for the most part, must keep itself uninvolved with the situation and not be part of the negotiations.
One concern is that hostage takers, especially the likes of Mendoza, will try to gain the attention of the media to meet their demands. In fact, he is expecting that the media will try to gain access to him.
“The main issue that journalists have to keep in mind in such situations is the safety of the hostages and not impeding the work of the police. The media shouldn’t play in the hands of these people. The whole principle of live coverage must be evaluated very carefully.”
The CMFR already had posted suggested guidelines on how media should conduct themselves during a hostage crisis. Ironically, these guidelines were released in the aftermath of the hostage situation involving a man named Armando Ducat, Jr. and several pre-school children in 2007.
One line, in particular states: “Challenge any gut reaction to “go live” from the scene of a hostage-taking crisis, unless there are strong journalistic reasons for a live, on-the-scene report. Things can go wrong very quickly in a live report, endangering lives or damaging negotiations. Furthermore, ask if the value of a live, on-the-scene report is really justifiable compared to the harm that could occur.”
The journalism resource center Poynter Institute also stressed the need for journalists to restrain themselves in crises. Bob Steele, a Nelson Poynter scholar for Journalism Values, wrote guidelines that covers hostage-taking, prison uprisings, and terrorist actions.
The first in his guideline is that reporters must assume that the hostage-taker has access to reporting, which could affect the movement of the responding law enforcement or military units. Journalists must also restrain themselves from becoming personally involved in these situations.
In a separate interview, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) Vice Chairperson Nonoy Espina also stressed that there are no guidelines set for local journalists regarding the content being broadcast and the manner of which journalists must practice during serious situations.
“Who decides what goes live? Who decides to field their top anchors on the scene? There has never been any adequate training, either for field personnel or gatekeepers (journalists).”
Espina noted that owners of all media organizations must come together to discuss and implement guidelines that can be adapted by journalists when covering such dire situations. However, he stressed that the media must still practice their duty to report and prevent abuses that have been veiled from the media.
It will take a while before media companies will come together to ever come up with guidelines and even implement them among their own companies, given the exercise in freedom that the Philippine media has always exercised since the end of the Marcos era.
It is hoped, however, that the next hostage situation would not end in the same manner as the one in Quirino and that the media will work responsibly.
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completely agree. media should get together and implement guidelines. Otherwise, the government will gladly do it for them.
Armed man taking hostage should have an immediate shoot to kill order with a sniper to avoid more casualties. No negotiation policy, due to its act of Terrorism. Applicable for only one hostage taker.
Ooh. Actually, I didn’t say that. I retweeted it. But I do have to say, even if I didn’t write it, I agree with what was said.